Thursday started with everyone still feeling as though they had been beaten up from the previous days of boating. During discussions, we decided that either the Middle or Upper Sesia was the river of the day; the Middle being the easier option as we had done it before, and the Upper being the more difficult of the two sections. A trip to Campertogno showed the gauge at a 75, which is slightly lower than we've seen before. The Middle being the choice, as the four of us needed a chilled out day, just to avoid bottoming out. The run was fun, and this time every one of us paddles Piode falls, and each one of us missed the ‘boof’ stroke that would have avoided a complete submersion.
In the afternoon, we headed for a walk up the valley from the apartment we are staying in, to where an avalanche had decimated the tree line. After returning, we had food and an easy night of cards and getting the fire to heat the living room to unacceptably uncomfortable levels, which led to vast amounts of male nudity within the confines of the apartment (however by now we had embraced the communal bidet towel, and therefore the amount of "team bonding" had enabled us to be comfortable in this new situation).
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| Avalanche area |
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| Melt water snow cave |
Friday, being our last day, was a late started and we headed to the Landwasser Fall. However a (supposed) 10m waterfall isn't actually that easy to find in the Italian Alps, where the steepness of the river makes it hard to really know where a vertical drop is. Driving up the valley, we had to ask fishermen where the fall was. With interlingual Charades being everyones latest skill (soon to be on my CV), we were told that the river we had driven up did not have a waterfall. Not believing a single thing we were told, we decided to go for a walk; and we lucked out. Jumping on, we hit up the drop:
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| Jonny |
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| Max |
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| Rob |
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| Stu |
An evening within the closest pizzeria was eye opening. Initially we were given a free pizza to chow down on, whilst waiting for our pizzas, were served litre beers and then given limoncello with the bill. These Italians sure know how to earn their tips!!!
The drive home on Saturday was OK, little bit of rain as we left the Alps, but smashed it out (door to door) in about 19 hours.
A good week, and ready for the French Alps in a fortnights time.
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